


Against All Odds

by StarLove18



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M, Gen, My First Work in This Fandom, Other canon characters will make an appearance, Villains are mine
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-03 19:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12754386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarLove18/pseuds/StarLove18
Summary: After a suspicious letter is received, devious schemes and a thirst for vengeance causes hell to break loose in two worlds.





	Against All Odds

**Author's Note:**

> This prequel is part of a grand story; it can also be read as a standalone. Let me know what you think.
> 
> 'thoughts'  
> "speech"  
> ~~~@ = denotes flashbacks (EDIT: Flashbacks are italicized now. I've got the tags done right. Thanks, Internet!)
> 
> Other edits completed, so this version is better than the original.

Disclaimer: DragonBall Z and all its affiliates belong to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation. I'm only writing this for fun; not money.

"Mommy, I'm off to bed!" yelled an exasperated, eight-year-old Trunks. Finally - those dreaded dishes were finished! Over and over, he strove to escape his mother's requests with great effort. If anything, he would be the first to suggest you don't fall for it. Bulma Briefs certainly knows how to put her foot down - and when. It only made his escape attempts all the more complicated. Thanks to his father, Vegeta, who blasted their Whirlpool dishwasher after losing a good night's sleep. His excuse? Kakarot - better known as Goku to everyone else - wouldn't stop. He complained about the needles he found in his cooked fish through telepathy. He could've died! Blah blah blah... He almost lost it! Blah blah blah... There's no way in HFIL that Chi Chi would intentionally do this! Blah blah... Then it clicked! Vegeta kindly asked Goku to shut it, and assured him that he will handle this.

It all had started when Trunks had just made it back from school with a beaming smile on his face. An A+ on his most recent Math test was the best thing any kid could possibly ask for. All he had to do was share the news with his parents - then, a trip to the amusement park was on! Wasn't that a dream come true? As Trunks skidded through the hall, Vegeta emerged from the Gravity Room. "Hey Dad, is it possible if I can train at eight hundred times gravity before dinner?" the boy asked.

A smirk crossed the latter's face. "Why of course, Son. As long as you can handle it."

"Great!" Trunks beamed. His excitement is grew rapidly.

Vegeta knew this all too well. Thankfully, his boy had something else that built his pride more than anything. Intelligence. Just the perfect blend of brawn and brains. However, he realized how much he needed some sleep, missed sleep, due to Kakarot's five hour babble. His sights were set on the kitchen. "I'm grabbing a Hetap. Care to join?" While he waited for a response, Trunks flew past him instead. The Saiyan Prince shrugged it off, dug his hands in both pockets, and strut his way to the kitchen.

At the dining table, Dr. Briefs was sipped on his coffee when Trunks rushed in.

"Hey Gramps! Guess who passed their Math test?"

The Doc peered at his grandson. "You are definitely the perfect blend of your parents," came the curt reply with a proud smile. "Bravo!"

"Thanks!" Trunks sauntered over to the refrigerator and pulled out two Hetaps. He felt the wind of a swift move on one of the drink cans. Turned out his dad had caught up with him and hid his ki. Smart move.

In a swift motion, Trunks raced his way past the gravity room. He didn't sense his father's ki, so the coast was clear. There was an important job he needed to accomplish. With his signature smirk, the purple-haired wonder tiptoed, ten giant steps to his room. He rummaged through his things in the closet, pulled out a can of worms and grinned. Both him and his best friend, Goten Son, collected them two days ago while he spent the day at Mount Paozu.

~~~@

_"Hey Goten, remember when our mothers discussed the biggest fears our fathers have?"_

_"Yeah! I still do!" The younger boy beamed. His smile practically resembled Goku's right now._

_"Well, I think it's time to make my dad the target," said Trunks. "We need to collect all the worms we can find."_

_Goten gave Trunks a funny look. Apprehension was written all over his face. "Are you sure about that? Uncle 'Geta would hate to know it's us."_

_"Relax, man. All we gotta do is pull this off right."_

_"But what if we get grounded?" Goten inquired._

_Trunks decided to ignore his friend's concern. A diversion would do the trick - it always worked. "I'll trade my favourite toy with you. Keep it for a whole month. Deal?"_

_Goten's face beamed with delight. He loved trading toys. "Deal!"_

~~~@

Since then, Trunks proceeded to put his prank to the test. As he opened his can of worms, the purple-haired wonder retrieved two of the longer ones. He put the jar back under his bed, stepped over to his door, and listened intently for his cue. Something unusual grabbed his attention; he heard his parents having a normal conversation. Oh dreary dear... Talk about a major setback, part one.

"I'm one-hundred percent certain that things will turn up," Bulma suggested. "Besides, would it be easier to see if we can make this a family vacation?"

Vegeta grunted. "Rather than a one day trip?"

"Of course!" Bulma beamed. "I have more than enough saved up, and the family can go." As she looked up and lightly tapped her chin, she added, "Perhaps we can bring Goten along."

"Hmph! There's no way Kakarot's brat will comprehend what's happening," Vegeta scoffed.

Bulma's face, contorted with stern disdain, raised an eyebrow. "What was that?" she asked. Her arms were crossed, as an icy glare shot in his direction.

Vegeta snorted, before he spoke again, "I know he's our son's best friend and all, but those two have caused a ruckus lately." Now his arms were crossed; his face mirrored the expression his wife wore.

"Wait... What ruckus?" Bulma inquired. In somewhat _normal_ circumstances, she expected an argument to flare up if either one would disagree. However, her husband's response sounded rather rational. She took a seat next to him. "What don't I know?"

"Kakarot interrupted my sleep last night," Vegeta began. "He complained about some needles in his food."

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "How? Everyone was asleep."

Vegeta huffed in response, then continued, "Not when you have telepathic abilities, and _definitely_ not while dealing with him." He adjusted his position and peered at the ceiling. "It is very common for Saiyans and other races to hone this ability. Humans are out of the equation. To answer your question..." His gaze focused on her, "I was not on the phone."

"Interesting," she replied. "Appreciate the knowledge!"

Both parties smiled at each other, for what felt like hours before Bulma resumed the conversation. "So..." She gave her husband an inquisitive look. "About those needles Goku complained about..."

Trunks kept his ki very low, as best as he could. He felt a slight pang of regret, for he had eavesdropped on his parents. Perhaps Goten was right; if they ever found out what really happened to Goku...

Trunks shook off the thought. He had to follow through with his plan. If Goten was brave enough to follow through with his "mission", so should he. Just as he entered his parents' bedroom, he caught sight of his father's training boots. He grinned. Snickered. Sauntered over to the target. This was bound to be the best prank ever. Just as he reached for the worms in his pocket, a loud shriek blasted, with high intensity, which blared through his ears! Grandma Bunny caught him red-handed at the door. 'Oh shucks!' he thought. 'Nana is going to ruin everything. Um, stay calm. Play nice.'

"Trunksy-bean," Bunny began. "I would not want you to get under your father's skin."

"This has nothing to do with trouble, Nana," came the curt reply. "I just want to convince him that it's okay to bring Goten to the amusement park... you know, the one in South City? They're reopening this weekend." Before she could respond, sly puppy dog eyes were fixed on his face. Bunny always fell for that, and he knew it. "Please help me?" he asked with a squeaky voice.

"Why, sure!" she beamed with delight. "I'm going to bake some of your favourite cookies!"

'Go with the flow.' "Actually, I can help you make some. In case you didn't know, I've passed my Math test at school."

Before he could say anything more, his grandma hugged him real tight! "Now that's my munchkin!" she cooed. "I'll help you write a letter to Dad, as well."

As the clock kept ticking, Bunny continued to chat while Trunks (albeit sneakily), dropped two worms in Vegeta's boots. Good. He quickly tucked his left hand inside his pocket, and followed his talkative grandmother out of his parents' bedroom. Great! All this time, Bunny didn't notice a thing; she initially assumed that Trunks would steal Vegeta's boots. Therefore, she believed that she was wise enough to talk him out of it - little did she know. In the pesky boy's head, an imaginary world of sorts, he laughed nonstop.

By the time they made it back to the kitchen, Dr. Briefs was heading out with his coffee mug. "I'll be heading down to the lab for the next hour," he said. "See you all in a bit."

"Later!" Trunks responded with a wave.

As Bunny made her way to the stove, Trunks was caught in the sight of his parents...

"Trunks-kun!" Bulma called.

"Yes Mom?"

"I need you to do me a huge favour."

-x-

Heading downstairs, the musical baritone hum bounced through the corridors of Capsule Corp. Dr. Briefs looked forward to his upcoming project. It was meant to open up a brand new business, which served the purpose to aid pet owners and veterinarians. The Chatback Device, as he mentally puts it, would allow people to hear the thoughts of their house pets. Of course, he would do a test run on three of the zoo animals first. Even though there were many people who understood and trained their pets well, there were others who lacked, or they never grasped the concept of animal psychology. In the long run, this invention should be a great help for many.

While he hummed a song to himself, Dr. Briefs took a seat at his work desk. Without hesitation, he proceeded to check the mail delivered by his secretary. He scanned through each envelope, took mental notes by categorizing what was important, what was urgent, and what could wait for later. The next envelope he came across looked rather unusual. It was not a holiday, nor his birthday per se... Yet, this envelope was multi-coloured with a big red heart stamped on it. There was no name, no address, no indicator that identified the sender nor recipient. His eyes narrowed.

"I don't recall a Secret Santa challenge at this time of year. My daughter would've mentioned it." He scratched his head, puzzled. Once again, he examined the envelope before opening it. The note looked morbid - the mystery sender in question must've used their own blood as ink. The note was precise, with the following:

_"What's up, Doc? I hope you're prepared to fail in the worst ways possible. Consider this my gift to you... and I promise to be nice."_


End file.
